Thursday, 14 March 2013

Nanyang Scholarship covers up to the normal programme duration on condition that the scholar maintains a record of good academic performance and conduct satisfactory to the University.- Subsidised tuition fees (after Tuition Grant) will be fully covered - Living allowance of S$6,000 per academic year. - Book allowance of S$500 per academic year. - Accommodation allowance of up to S$2,000 per academic year. Applicable to scholars who reside in NTU hostels.- Travel grant of S$5,000 (one-off) * - Computer allowance of S$1,500 (one-off). - Settling-in allowance of S$250 (one-off). - Priority for Overseas Study Programme. - No bond is attached to the Nanyang Scholarship apart from the three-year bond applicable to all Singapore PRs and international students under the MOE Tuition Grant Scheme.

Lim Min prefers a professional course (Accountancy) + a course that she has interest in or is confident of doing well (Computing/Math/Science). Unfortunately, NTU does not have such a double degree, so she ended up choosing NTU Accountancy + Business. Both Accountancy and Business are new to her, it is difficult to tell if she would be interested or if she will excel in these courses to earn a good honours degree at the end. She would be more confident of doing well in Math, Science and Computing modules, which has always been her pet subjects. By taking Accountancy and Business, it means she has to step out of her comfort zone into new challenges. The NTU offer is attractive - a good scholarship, with a double degree (in Accountancy and Business with direct honours) that takes only 3.5 to 4 years. Most other double degrees with honours from NTU and NUS would have required 4.5 - 5 years to complete. And according to the article above from NTU magazine Hey! Mar-Apr 2013 issue, the first batch of its double degree in Accountancy and Business who graduated last year are earning an average of $7k+ at the 90th percentile :O

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Results of application to NUS and SMU is pending. (SMU interview is scheduled for 26 March)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Photo: The Singapore students follow different lessons on the Lorentz Casimir Lyceum to learn more about the Dutch education system.

In Dutch. Translated to English:

East and West meet at Eindhoven

Four pair of eyes are focused on teacher Latin Fokko Ringeling. The almost empty packet of Hollandse stroopwafels is in the middle on the table. The pupils from the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science in Singapore, are in - equivalent to - year 5 and 6. Together with two teachers and the headmaster, they visit the Lorentz Casimir Lyceum. The purpose of the journey is the learning of the Dutch education system, in particular, teaching of Mathematics.

The answer to the question as to why the Singapore education produces high achievers, the headmaster does not know exactly. He believes that the Asian culture, and parents in Asia are very focused on the education and the performance of their children. As a result students were highly motivated. “The reason why our education is so good, is that we learn from other countries", said Dr. Hang.

Indeed, learning from each other is the crux of the visit. This applies not only to the chancellor but also for the pupils. The first and second grade students get a presentation of the Singaporean education system. Cooperation between both schools already exists before the visit. Dr. Hang’s school organizes the Singapore International Mathematics Challenge every two years. Last year the Netherlands was represented by four students from the Lorentz. During the competition, Dr. Hang was invited to come to the Netherlands.

Dr. Hang has yet another reason to be in the Netherlands. His students will be spending this weekend at the international finals of the mathematics Alympiade in the Gelderse Garderen. According to the headmaster, the goal is not to win. "The pupils should enjoy the experience and meeting new people. I think that is much more important than winning," said the headmaster.